ESSENTIAL EVENT // 3rd Ward Hosts Lie-Nielsen For a Day of Hand Tools and Woodworking Fun

If microplanes get you all hot and bothered and you like nothing more than a flawless dovetail, you'll want to clear your calendar for January 6th and 7th, when Lie-Nielsen Toolworks swoops into town to teach you about hand tools.

Lie-Nielsen began in Maine in 1981 with the goal of producing high-quality American-made tools. They now produce more than 50 types of saws, planes, scrapers, shavehorses and more, all out of high-quality metals like ductile iron and manganese bronze. These are materials that are meant not to rust or dull, so that your pretty little saw (seriously, these look really nice) will last for years, possibly even generations.

Of course, they'll explain all this and much more better than we can, and possibly even engage in some showdown fun like they did with former 3rd Ward member David Yepez, who actually had a dovetail competition with a master at Lie-Nielsen's headquarters. 

If that's not enough to get you excited, there will also be demonstrations by fellow toolmakers Tools for Working Wood, Brese Plane, MS Bickford, and Daed Toolworks as well as Exotic Lumber. We're anticipating a fun few days of learning, inspiration, and a healthy number of jokes about wood (hehe--sorry, NYE recovery's been slow going.) RSVP if you want in.

--Layla Schlack